"Crown Her WISER" - Test Prep Tech Equity

Globally, female STEM degree-seeking students attempting to attend US colleges and universities are often inhibited from admission due to low ACT/SAT scores. The Black-White ACT Test gap in the US lends a 5.4 composite score gap when comparing Blacks to Whites who test for the ACT.  While offering admission to test-optional colleges and universities in the US, these low scores do not afford merit-based academic and athletic scholarships.  The lack of scholarships occasioned by these low test scores results in the need for student loans, leading to possible 30-year debt.  In the US in 2019, 71 million students were aged 18 or younger, and 56% of those students, or 41 million, needed additional financial aid to pursue their college and/or career readiness dreams due to low ACT/SAT scores. When considering international students, US financial aid is often not an option.  Thus, our solution, SCHOOLS, provides high-quality, cost-effective test prep for female STEM degree-seeking students.  Our score increases are +5-10 ACT or +100-200 SAT composite score increases in as little as 5 weeks. Our competitive advantage is that our score increases are 10x the national average for US competitors, at 1/10 of the cost in a fraction of the time to produce score gains (5 weeks versus 12 months). At Harvard, our solution was the only test prep company invited by a fellowship to the 2019 Harvard Institute for Urban School Leaders to address educational justice and access issues for marginalized K-12 students. Our solution received the 2021 Inaugural Wharton Knowledge for Impact Award, 1 of only 6 globally, for social impact. Our solution won the 2022 Alabama Launchpad SOical Impact Seed Round Competition.  In addition, our solution was named one of the top 200 Elite G Cup Award Winners in 2023 by ASU+GSV.  Our solution specifically addresses test prep as a matter of social justice for under-resourced females in the US and abroad, particularly first-generation college students, BIPOC, and LatinX females.  We are currently serving female scholars and scholar-athletes beginning in Grade 3 located within the US, the Bahamas, the Caribbean, Nigeria, and Latin America. We begin in Grade 3 to halt the pipeline leak of girls from STEM degree-seeking that occurs as early as Grade 6. By utilizing our innovative Ed-Tech, we want females to be WISER- Women Inspired By STEM and Empowered to Reign! We show these future queens how to wear their crowns! 

In simple terms, our Learning Management System houses our trademarked ACT and SAT test prep methodology.  We use innovative ed-tech through an app and video conferencing that are available to students globally with Wifi to share our methodology in a cost-effective manner. This of us as the "Peloton" of test prep, where 1 of our academic coaches can teach millions of females who can join with the click of a button. We keep in constant contact with our females through daily reminders with our app, as we know learning occurs 24/7! We provide 1,250 practice questions with exemplars and video content. Females can join our live classes or purchase 2-week or 5-week subscriptions for self-study.

To reiterate, our solution specifically addresses test prep as a matter of social justice for under-resourced females in the US and abroad, particularly first-generation college students, BIPOC, and LatinX females.  Since 2009, we've helped more than 12,000 females attend college debt-free, and many with academic and athletic scholarships producing refunds based upon their high GPAs and ACT/SAT test scores. We've impacted 250,000 families through our free social media campaigns and helped families avoid over $250 million dollars in student loan debt.   These tax-free financial refunds can be used at the females' discretion. Many of the females that we've helped have become the financial guarantors for their entire family's economic renaissance and freedom from debt.  Grandparents are no longer forced to take out second mortgages, nor are parents forced to sign parent plus loans, decreasing the cycle of poverty for three generations with 1 high ACT or SAT score following completion of our test preparation program. Many purchase their first homes and cars for their family, assist their family with relocating from impoverished communities, and fund fellow family members' educational pursuits with their refunds.  Several females who've received scholarships have personally funded the return to college of their parents, grandparents, and siblings who were forced to drop out previously to work to financially secure the family from poverty.  Our "WISER" women learning to wear their crowns glean from our current service area, which includes female scholars and scholar-athletes, Grade 3 or higher, located within the US, the Bahamas, the Caribbean, Nigeria, and Latin America. Consequently, we begin test prep in Grade 3 to halt the pipeline leak of girls from STEM degree-seeking that occurs as early as Grade 6 by enrolling early test takers into programs for exceptionally gifted students, such as the ones held at Johns Hopkins, Duke, MIT, USC, and Harvard. By utilizing our innovative Ed-Tech, we want females to be WISER- Women Inspired By STEM and Empowered to Reign!

My heart’s desire has been to allow STEM/STEAM/STREAM degree-seeking students and student-athletes opportunities to explore their college and career potential with debt-free college attendance and certification advancement. Early educational interventions can only accomplish this mission, especially in reading comprehension, critical thinking, and standardized test-taking exposure and experience.  My passion is student achievement, and my purpose is social justice.  For the past 35 years, I have provided high-quality, cost-effective test prep to eradicate inter-generational poverty from student loan debt. My proof of concept, the Belle Method of Academic Currency ©, with its critical thinking and test-taking strategies, has been verified by Harvard, MIT, USC, and Wharton. Unfortunately, not many funding entities harkened to my clarion call for educational intervention in the inner city and rural neighborhoods for students aged 3 to 5 years old, as most Head Start facilities in these redlined zip codes close due to lack of funding.  I was the product of a Head Start program that allowed me to enter high school at the age of 12 from high test scores.  Having experienced first-hand the power of test prep, I began my fee-for-service test prep company to start test prep exposure and experience as early as 3rd grade, when K-12 standardized testing often begins. My educational pursuit was filled with necessitated social isolation, as there was not then (and is not now) one Montessori school or K-12 school not listed on my State’s “Poor Performers” List in the marginalized zip code where I was born, raised, and continue to serve free of charge at the Dearborn Street YMCA.  My parents then had to (as parents who reside in my childhood neighborhood still have to) drive over 30 miles daily for my entire K-12 educational experience, as no bus routes run through my neighborhood to the Montessori, Talented K-5, Gifted 6-8, or IB/AP High schools that I attended. My family funded all necessary payments in their own economic silo.  I owe my ability to read chapter books by age 3 to the Daycare worker, Mrs. Williams, at the local Daycare in the projects where my Dad worked at HUD. She made sure that I was prepared for the standardized test to place into the Montessori school, Aquinas Academy. I was too young to begin at age 2, so I attended my inner-city parochial school for a year. Once at Aquinas, I skipped three grade levels, entering high school at age 12. I was the first scholar-athlete from my neighborhood to graduate from Murphy High School’s IB Programme, and served as the school’s first BIPOC Homecoming Queen in 1988 while leading the Lady Panthers to the State Championship for four years straight, serving as the Girls’ Track and Field Captain.  Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending upon one’s perspective and intersectionality, I learned early that the wealth gap equated to the test score gap for my neighborhood friends and community. My potential had not changed, my test score had.

More than 12,000 per year or more scholars and scholar-athletes attend a SCHOOLS ACT or SAT preparation program. Our test prep intensives are offered B2C and B2B.  Our B2B customers include school systems, mostly Title I. 

Our solution is self-funded to date from capital gains. We experienced a 2.6X growth year to year from 2021 to 2022. We have never sought VC funds or held a seed round for funding.  Our goals for participation are simple.  First, our solution is seeking needs assessment support to catapult our acceleration effectively and efficiently.  Second, our solution is seeking networking opportunities to scale the reach of our impact.  Third, our solution is in need of mentorship and coaching for our Leadership Team, as what began as a mission for us has become a global social impact movement.  Fourth, as our solution has become a relevant workforce development solution occasioning over 5,000 internships, we are seeking resource partners across industries and sectors.  Fifth, as most 2-year and 4-year collegiate academic or athletic scholarships do not often cover summer school costs for attendance or summer housing, our solution seeks to broaden our peer-to-peer network to become a valued partner in a thriving community of practice. 

For the past 35 years, I have provided high-quality, cost-effective test prep to eradicate inter-generational poverty from student loan debt in the community in which I grew up as a mission.  Tolminville, Alabama, is an urban section of Mobile, Alabama, where 100% of the K-12 schools are deemed "Poor Performing."  My initial mission has now become an international social justice impact movement. 

We meet students where they are! Our app can be used at any available wifi station globally. Our free constant contact with students encourages grit and resilience. We often are working with students who are 3 to 5 grade levels behind due to learning losses. As we begin with 3rd grade exemplars, our innovative ed tech is also useful in helping students recover learning losses while experiencing ACT or SAT composite score increases through test preparation.  Our solution uses a learning management system, a video conferencing tool, and an app to daily remind students of their assignments.  We also use AI to allow students to envision their future selves positively.

Our solution is seeking to earn 0.75% of the US test prep market by 2030. In the State of Alabama, this will afford over 500,000 scholars and scholar-athletes the opportunity to graduate with a high school diploma in conjunction with the newly enacted college and career readiness credentialing requirements for high school graduation,  This will also afford 500,00 new credentialed workers into the State of Alabama's workforce.  By increasing our number of 5-week subscriptions to 307,510 annually, at a subscription rate of $155 per pupil, our solution would generate sales of $54 million.  As we are applying to become the first BIPOC, female-led Benefit  Corporation in the State of Alabama, this would allow $5.4 million, or 10% of our earnings, to be reinvested into marginalized communities to provide free test prep.

Target: Number of B2B Subscriptions

Indicator: B2B K-12 School System Contracts

Target: Number of B2B Subscriptions for Workforce Development 

Indicator: B2B Community College System Contracts

Target: Number of B2C Subscriptions

Indicator: B2C 2-week and 5-week subscriptions purchased from the website

Our solution is based upon a demonstrated proof of concept, a theory of change we developed, and a logic model stemming from the Kellogg Logic Model.  Our proof of concept has been demonstrated at Harvard, Wharton, USC, and MIT.  To date, our solution has impacted 250,000 families and saved over $250 million dollars of unnecessary student loan debt from college scholarships.  Our solution and the development of its' logic model were the dissertation research study of our founder when completing her Doctoral Degree from the University of Southern California in 2023. For copies of the logic model or the dissertation research findings, please email val@schoolstestprep.com.

Yes. We use a learning management system, video conferencing, a remind app, and AI.

100 contractors

35 years

We have a stated DEI mission and vision statement as a B Corp with a DEI focus. We are a minority and female-owned company.  Our employees are recent graduates, retirees, and veterans.  95% of our workforce are both female and minority. We encourage full participation from all marginalized groups, encouraging the full sharing of all employees' intersectionalities.